Stand By My Side
by pigeon.poo
Summary: After Voldemort was defeated, Neville was sent to live with his grandmother. But his twin sister, Sophia, is sent to an orphanage, and adopted by a muggle family. When she gets her Hogwarts letter, she is explained about her heritage. She is excited to meet her blood brother, but feels like she's betraying her adoptive family. Can she live with both? Or will she have to choose?
1. Chapter 1

**Stand by my side**

 **Chapter 1**

Sophia woke to the smell of burnt bacon wafting from the kitchen, and the sound of the smoke detectors going off. She groaned and tried to block the sound out with her pillow, but she knew she would have to get up eventually. Pushing her long hair out of her eyes, she sat up, and, not for the first time, thought, _Why does this happen?_

She hopped up, and trudged down the stairs, still in her pyjamas, rubbing sleep out of her eyes. She could here Colin yelling, and Dennis running around. Dad was probably not home, and they knew Sophia liked to sleep in, so they probably tried to take matters into their own hands. She knew she should be grateful for them trying, but it was still frustrating.

The kitchen was a mess. Piles of pans were stacked on the table. Flour was spilt on the bench. There were half a dozen broken eggs on the floor. And in the middle of it all was Colin and Dennis, trying their best to cook bacon.

Sophia sighed. "Guys, I told you to leave the cooking to me. This is the fourth time this has happened." She saw Dennis's crestfallen face, and added, "But thanks for trying. Now, let's get this mess cleaned up."

It took a long time to clean up and make breakfast. By the time they were done, Sophia felt like her face was on fire. Dennis looked exhausted, but was grinning as if he just won the lottery. Colin's hair was plastered to his face with sweat.

Sophia didn't look like the rest of her family. While Colin, Dennis, and their father all had straight, mousy brown hair, Sophia's was dark brown and wavy. They had brown eyes, hers were hazel. While she was considered an average height, Colin and Dennis were both quite small for their age. She always got strange looks from people when they saw her walking around with her family, because she didn't look anything like them. One of the disadvantages of being adopted.

They didn't treat her as if she was adopted. Her dad treated her exactly the same as Colin and Dennis. However, she knew they weren't her blood family.

But she still loved Colin and Dennis with all of her heart, even if they were annoying, and clumsy, and couldn't think logically. They cared for her, and looked up to her, and Sophia was constantly working to be a good role model for them. She didn't do a very good job, though. She was always getting herself into some kind of mess. Her detention rate was high, and got bad marks in all of her classes. And yet they _still_ asked her for advice, and tried to please her, despite her protests.

The three of them sat down at the table and started eating. Despite being under Sophia's supervision, Colin had still burnt the toast, but apart from that, it was delicious. Sophia scoffed her's, and was just standing up to rinse her plate, when her dad came in.

Her dad, Adrian Creevey, was a milkman. He was usually a fun, caring person, but on some days, he was distant and sad. Colin had told her it was because he was thinking about Mom.

Brianna Creevey had passed away just after Dennis was born. Adrian had mourned for a long time. But he still had the tough job of looking after three kids while doing his job in the mornings. Sophia had learnt to look after her younger brothers from a young age.

Today, Adrian was in a sad mood. He smiled half-heartedly at them, before coming and sitting down at the table. Sophia set down his plate in front of him, and he muttered something, probably 'thanks', before digging in.

"I'm going to go and get ready." Sophia said, after a minute of awkward silence. She was going to her best friend Lizzie's house today.

"NO!" Colin and Dennis yelled at the same time. Sophia raised her eyebrows.

"Why not?" she asked. The boys looked at each other, and then at Dad. He shrugged. The boys looked back at her. Then they grinned.

"Because you've got to open your presents first!" Colin exclaimed. Sophia stared at him blankly, and he rolled his eyes. "It's your birthday, silly!"

Sophia looked at the calendar hanging on the wall, and realised that, indeed, it was the 30th of July, her birthday.

"Oh." She mumbled, embarrassed. How could she have forgotten her birthday? It was one of the only pieces of information that she had from her life before she was sent to the orphanage, as well as her first name. It was one of the most important days of her life, every year.

"Come on!" Dennis cried, grabbing her hand. He pulled her into their small living room, and Sophia gasped.

The Creevey's weren't rich. In fact, they were poor. They couldn't afford much for entertainment. Birthdays were never extravagant. Money was always being saved for birthday's and Christmas. So, thought and care was always put into the presents. And this year was no exception.

Three gifts were sitting next to the armchair; one from each of them. Sophia could immediately tell which one came from who. Dennis's was badly wrapped and brightly coloured. Colin's was the biggest. And Dad's was the smallest, with perfect wrapping and a ribbon tying it together.

"Mine first!" Dennis sat her down on the armchair, and passed her his present. She took the card off the top, and ripped open the envelope. Inside was a hand-drawn card. It was crayon, with a big yellow smiley face on the front. She opened it. Inside was a drawing of four people; Dennis, Colin, Dad, and her. The card read, _Dear Sophia, You're the bestest big sister in the whole world! Love from Dennis._

Sophia smiled and hugged Dennis. Then she proceeded to open the present. He had made a big book full of pictures she had drawn. She flipped through the book, looking at her artwork, being careful not to rip the pages.

"Thanks, Dennis!" she said, and Dennis grinned. She then picked up Colin's gift. He hadn't made a card, but she didn't really mind. She opened the gift carefully, and gasped. Inside was a collection of paints, plus paint brushes. They didn't have any paint, because it was too expensive, but Sophia loved painting at school. Sophia usually just used pencils for her artworks. But paint…

"Colin! This must have been super expensive!"

Colin shrugged. "Used my pocket money, and borrowed a bit from Dennis. But I know you like painting, so I thought I would give you something else to do apart from just drawing." Sophia gave him a big hug, and he grinned. "Happy Birthday."

"I'm not sure my gift can live up to those two!" Dad laughed.

Sophia smiled. "Don't worry Dad, it'll be great." She picked up the final gift, and unwrapped it carefully. She lifted it up.

"A pocket knife!" she cried in excitement.

Dad smiled. "I'm glad you like it."

Sophia gave him the biggest hug she could. "You're the best dad in the world!" And then she whispered. "And I'm glad you're mine."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Hi guys! Sorry I didn't put any author's notes on my last chapter, I didn't realise how to do it! This is my first story, so I hope you like it! Sorry if there's some wrong information in there.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter, or any of the characters apart from Sophia.

* * *

 **Stand by my side**

 **Chapter 2**

Sophia walked home from Lizzie's house, getting used to the friendship anklet Lizzie had given her for her birthday. They both had identical ones on the same foot, as a sign of their long-lasting friendship. As she turned the corner to her street, she couldn't help thinking, _This has been the best birthday ever._

As she walked into her house, she knew something was different. Then she realised her dad was talking to someone. Someone that was _not_ Colin or Dennis.

She walked into the living room, to see Dad talking to a woman. She had brown hair in a tight bun. She was wearing an emerald green cloak and square glasses. Her eyes seemed to be taking everything in, and when she saw Sophia, her eyes gleamed.

Her father saw her and smiled. "Sophia, come and sit down!" Sophia slowly walked in and took a seat next to her dad.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Um, well…" Dad said, and trailed off, not sure what to say.

"Would you like me to explain, Mr Creevey?" the woman asked, and he nodded. The woman turned to Sophia.

"My name is Professor McGonagall. I am here to invite you to attend the school I work at." She said. "But it isn't just any school. We only take special people."

Sophia raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean by 'special people'? How am I special?"

Professor McGonagall smiled. "By special, I mean magic. We are a magic boarding school. And you, Sophia Creevey, are a witch."

Sophia's eyes widened with shock. _Magic? I'm magic?_ She realised they were waiting for her to speak, so she said the first thing that came to mind. "I thought witches were green and warty?"

Her father looked at her sternly, but Professor McGonagall just smiled. "Do I look green and warty to you? No, witches just look like normal people, like you and me. I'm afraid the whole 'green and warty' thing is make-believe."

"Oh, right." Sophia mumbled, embarrassed. Then she looked at her dad. "Are you a witch?"

"Males are called wizards, Miss Creevey." Professor McGonagall said, before her dad could reply. "And no, he isn't a wizard. He's a Muggle, which is a non-magical person. Usually, witches and wizards are born from parents who are also magical, but in some cases, they are born to muggles."

Sophia suddenly felt uncomfortable, and looked at her hands in her lap. She didn't like talking to people about being adopted, but Professor McGonagall didn't seem to know, and she knew she should probably tell her. But she would have thought Dad had told her…

"There is something else I wanted to talk to you about." Professor McGonagall said, interrupting Sophia's thoughts. She looked up at the teacher. "I wanted to talk to you about your parents. Your birth parents."

Sophia felt her heart start beating faster. "You knew them?"

"Yes. In fact, they were magic, too. And they were very good at it."

"Can you tell me about them?" Sophia gasped, desperate. "I don't know anything about them! I don't even know their names!"

"Don't worry, I'll explain everything." Professor McGonagall smiled.

"I think I should probably go." Sophia's father stood up and walked to the door, making Sophia feel guilty. She didn't want her dad, her dad that had always been there for her, feeling like she didn't care about him.

"Dad!" Her voice trembled. He turned around. Sophia's throat closed up, but he seemed to understand. He smiled reassuringly, and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

"So, where would you like me to start?" McGonagall asked.

Sophia took a deep breath. "Just start with their names," she replied. "And continue from there."

"Okay." McGonagall paused. "Their names are Frank and Alice Longbottom."

 _Longbottom. My name is Sophia Longbottom._ She tested the name in her head, getting used to it.

"They were both great Auror's." McGonagall continued, and then noticed Sophia's confused expression. "Auror's are the wizarding world's police. They fought against a dark wizard that was rising to power, and his followers, called Death Eaters. Then, when you and your brother were only infants, the-

"What!" Sophia interrupted, shocked. "I have a brother?"

"A twin brother, in fact." McGonagall nodded. "His name is Neville. As I was saying, when you and your brother were only infants, a group of Death Eaters tortured your parents to insanity."

Sophia slumped back in her chair, not quite processing what she had just been told. She was magic. Her parents were magic. Her parents went insane. And most importantly, _she had a twin brother._ A twin brother, that was her own blood, and she could meet. Emotions boiled inside her; excitement, confusion, fear, wonder.

McGonagall cleared her throat. "Do you have any more questions about your parents?"

Sophia thought for a second. "One more. Why was I raised away from my brother?"

McGonagall smiled. "Excellent question. Since your parents couldn't raise you, you both had to find new homes. Your grandmother, your dad's mum, said she could take one, but _only_ one. So Neville was sent there, and since no one else could take you, you were sent to the orphanage."

Sophia felt a sudden wave of anger hit her. Anger at her grandmother, her grandmother she didn't even know, for only taking one of them in, and choosing Neville instead of her. Then it all evaporated, as she thought about how she wouldn't have known Colin and Dennis and her father, her _adoptive_ father, if she had been sent to live with her grandmother. She wouldn't have had all the great years with the people she wasn't related to, but had accepted her as one of her own. She couldn't imagine what her life would have been like without them.

"So," McGonagall said, snapping Sophia out of her thoughts. "Do you want to go to my school? Your dad has already given permission for you to go, if you wish."

"Um, can I talk to my family about it first?" Sophia asked.

"Of cause." McGonagall replied. "I'll stay here, and you can come back with an answer."

"Thank you." Sophia quickly left the room and looked around for her family. She found them in the kitchen. Dad had obviously told Colin and Dennis, because they looked glum.

When they saw her, the two boys tried for a smile, but it didn't really work.

"Are you going to go?" Colin asked.

"I don't know." Sophia admitted. "That's what I came to talk to you about. Do you want me to go?"

"No." Colin and Dennis replied quickly. Her dad looked like he didn't know what to say.

"Dad?" Sophia asked, feeling like she needed his answer.

"If you want to go, then I fully support that." He said, not looking at her.

"But do you _want_ me to go?"

He looked at her, and she could see tears threatening to leave his eyes. "Of cause I don't want you to go, sweetheart. I would miss you. But I think this is an amazing opportunity. You'll get to learn _magic,_ for goodness sake. If I was in your shoes, I would definitely go. But it's your choice."

Sophia was torn. She wanted to stay with her family, but could she refuse _magic_ for them? And she'd them every year, and she could probably write letter's. Sophia bit her lip, and looked at her dad.

"I'll go." She said. Her dad smiled. Colin and Dennis pouted.

"I better go back to Professor McGonagall," Sophia turned around.

"I'll come," her dad said. "We might need to organise something, so I should probably be there." The two of them walked back into the living room, where McGonagall was waiting.

"So, are you going?" the teacher asked. Sophia nodded, and her dad squeezed her shoulder.

"Good. You can read your letter now." McGonagall handed her an envelope, and she read the front.

 **Miss S Creevey**

 **The Smallest Room**

 **42 Sherwood Ave**

 **Blackpool**

 **Lancashire**

Sophia flipped it over, and studied the wax seal. It was a crest with a H in the middle, that was divided into four parts. In each part, there was an animal. One was an eagle, one was a snake, one was a lion, and one was a badger. Sophia opened the envelope and took out the letter. She opened it up and read it.

 **HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY**

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Miss Creevey,

We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

"What does 'we await your owl' mean?" Sophia asked, after a minute of silence.

"You don't have to worry about that. People who grew up in a Muggle family are visited by a member of staff to collect their answer. That's why I'm here."

Sophia scanned the equipment list. "Where on earth do you get all this stuff?"

"London." McGonagall replied, her eyes twinkling. "You just need to know where to look." She stood up and addressed Dad. "I'll have to take her shopping for her equipment. Is Sunday all right, at about 9 o'clock?"

"Yes, I think so." He answered.

"Good. If you could drop her off at the train station, I'll take her to London."

"Wait," Sophia interrupted. She looked at McGonagall. "Can you give me proof? That it's real, I mean?"

McGonagall smiled. "Of cause." She pulled a stick- no, a _wand_ \- out of her pocket, and waved her hand. Bright red sparks flew out of it, and Sophia had to stop herself from laughing.

"Wow." She said. The sparks disappeared as suddenly as they appeared.

"Have a good day." McGonagall said, tucking her wand back into her cloak, and walked out of the room, out the front door, and with a little smile, disappeared into thin air.


	3. Chapter 3

**Stand by my side**

 **Chapter 3**

The days of the week dragged on, as Sophia anxiously waited for Sunday to arrive.

Colin and Dennis were still upset about her leaving, but Sophia thought they were jealous she got to learn magic. She had promised to write them letters at least once a month. Colin had said he wished she could take pictures for them, but she didn't have a camera.

She had to tell Lizzie that she was going to a boarding school, but she couldn't tell her that it was magic, otherwise Lizzie would think she was crazy.

To be honest, Sophia felt like she was going crazy. She kept on expecting herself to wake up and realise it was all a dream, that Professor McGonagall had never come, that she didn't know anything about her parents, she didn't have a twin brother, and her letter to Hogwarts wasn't sitting under her pillow, as if it was a tooth for the Tooth Fairy to come and collect.

She had reread the letter millions of times, just to make sure it was real. She had fantasised about what it would be like there, lots of kids, running around- actually, they probably fly, she thought to herself- casting magic spells that did all wonderful kinds of things. She always imagined them saying _Abracadabra_ as they waved their wands, but she reasoned that if witches being green and warty wasn't true, then saying abracadabra probably wasn't true either.

On Sunday morning, she woke early, which was very unusual for her. She got changed into denim shorts, a T-shirt, sandals, and a cap, then brushed her hair and tied it up. She grabbed a small backpack, and put in her wallet with her little bit of pocket money, water, the letter, and a notebook and pen. After thinking for a bit, she put in her pocket knife as well. She practically ran down the stairs and into the kitchen, where she settled for just having cereal. She was nearly finished when Colin and Dennis came down from their room. When they saw her, their eyes widened, and they looked at each other, alarmed.

"What's wrong?" Sophia asked, looking at herself. "Do I look weird?"

"No…" Colin hesitated. "It's just…"

"What?"

"You're up early!" Dennis filled in for Colin. "You're _never_ up early!"

"Oh," Sophia laughed, relaxing. "I guess I'm just excited."

"So you should be." Their father said, as he walked through the door. "Once you've finished that, I'll drive you to the train station."

"Can we come?" Dennis tried to give Dad a cute smile.

"No."

Sophia finished up, and hurried out to the old car, Dad not far behind her. He started the car, and Sophia tried not to get fidgety.

When they got to the train station, McGonagall was already there with two train tickets.

"Have fun, sweetheart!" Dad called as Sophia followed McGonagall onto the train.

Once they were seated, McGonagall pulled a newspaper out of her bag, so Sophia stared out the window, watching everything hurtle past. When she turned around to ask her something, she suddenly froze in shock.

"The pictures are moving!" she cried. McGonagall hushed her.

"Yes, Miss Creevey, the pictures move." She said quietly. "Is there anything else?"

McGonagall sounded cranky, so Sophia shook her head, even though she did have questions. She kept her questions in her head as the train grew closer to their destination.

Once they arrived in London, McGonagall led her down street after street, and Sophia followed her closely, looking at everything around her. She had never been to London before, and everything new she saw amazed her.

Finally, McGonagall reached where she was heading. She stopped outside a tiny pub that, in Sophia's opinion, looked very grubby.

"This is the Leaky Cauldon." McGonagall explained. "Muggles can't see it, so everyone inside are wizards." With that she walked inside, Sophia close on her heels.

It was dark and rather shabby inside. People were drinking and laughing. An old man was serving a large man with a big bushy beard and a long mane of hair. When he saw McGonagall, the barman gave her a big toothy grin.

"Minnie!" he called. "Always a pleasure!"

"I told you not to call me that, Tom." McGonagall said stiffly.

"Mornin' Professor McGonagall, ma'am." The bearded man said heartily. Then he looked at Sophia. "Muggleborn, eh?"

"No, she isn't a Muggleborn, Hagrid." McGonagall looked at him as if he had forgotten something. Then realisation dawned on Hagrid's face.

"Of cause!" he cried. Then he shook Sophia's hand. "Nice meetin' yeh, Sophia."

"Come on." McGonagall lead her out a door into an empty courtyard.

"Professor," Sophia said. "How come that man knew my name?"

McGonagall looked at her as if she didn't know what to say. "He knows what happened, with your parents and your brother. Most people do. And he knew I was coming and collecting you."

Sophia was thinking about that, before she realised Professor McGonagall had pulled out her wand. She watched in fascination as McGonagall tapped her wand three times on one of the bricks. In moments, the wall had shrunk away, to reveal a busy street that twisted and turned.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley." McGonagall smiled, stepping into the street.

As they walked, Sophia couldn't help but stare at everything. Not just the shops, but also the people. There were millions of things she wanted to look at, but McGonagall was heading towards a certain building, and Sophia nearly lost her in the crowd.

"The first thing we need to do is get you some money." McGonagall said as they walked.

"I've got my pocket money in my bag?" Sophia offered.

McGonagall scoffed. "Don't worry, keep it. There's plenty of money for you here."

They reached a big, snow white building, with bronze doors.

"This is Gringotts." McGonagall said. "The wizarding world's bank. It's run by goblins."

They walked up to the doors, and Sophia tried to ignore the goblin standing next to it. They went through, to find a set of silver doors with a big long paragraph of words engraved on them. Sophia wanted to read what it said, but Professor McGonagall was moving too quick.

They went through the silver doors into a giant marble hall. Goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, doing various different things.

McGonagall lead her up to a counter. "The Longbottom vault, please."

A goblin looked at them. "Key?" McGonagall took at small golden key out of her pocket. The goblin studied it. "Very well." He finally said. "Nurgok!" Another goblin came running up. "Take them to vault nine hundred and five." Nurgok nodded.

"Come right this way, please." The goblin led them to a door, and opened it, letting them into a stone passage way. He whistled, and a small cart appeared. They all hopped in, and the cart started rolling towards where they had to go, at a very fast speed.

After what seemed like ages of hurtling through the maze of twisting passages, they arrived at a vault. The goblin took the key, and slotted it in the keyhole. He opened the door for Sophia to go inside.

Inside was piles of coins, gold silver and bronze. Sophia didn't think she'd had this much money in her whole entire life!

"Where did I get all this money from?" Sophia asked McGonagall.

"Your parents." McGonagall smiled. "They didn't leave you with nothing. Now, put some in this bag." Sophia went over and piled some coins in. "Now, the gold ones are called Galleons, the silver are Sickles, and the bronze are Knuts. There are seventeen Sickles in a Galleon, and twenty-nine Knuts in a Sickle. Have you got that?"

Sophia didn't, but she nodded anyway, and they hopped back on the cart with the bag of coins, and they sped off.

Once they were out of Gringotts, McGonagall took her shopping for all the things on her list. An hour later, they only had one thing left to get.

"A wand." Sophia read out. McGonagall nodded.

"Ollivanders." She said, and they headed off.

The wand shop was small and shabby. As they stepped inside, a bell rang out somewhere.

"Hello." A soft voice spoke, and Sophia jerked back in surprise. An old man appeared from behind a stack of wand boxes. "Sophia Longbottom, I believe. You look like your father, you know. I've been serving your family wands for a while now. Your grandmother, your grandfather, your mother, your father, but not your brother. I believe he's using your father's wand."

Sophia couldn't help but feel a bit creeped out. There was something about this man she didn't like.

McGonagall coughed. "Ollivander…"

"Of cause, of cause, you want to go, Minerva. I still remember your wand. Nine and a half inches, fir, dragon heartstring. Quite a good wand, if I do say so myself…"

"Ollivander!"

"Right, right, sorry! Now, Miss Longbottom, which is your wand arm?"

"Um… I'm left handed?" As soon as she said it, tape measures snapped up and started measuring her on their own.

"Okay…" Ollivander started looking around the boxes. "Ah, what about this one? Nine inches, rowan wood, unicorn hair, very flexible. Good for defensive magic. Give it a wave!" He passed the wand to Sophia. She looked at him, and he smiled encouragingly, so, as he asked, she waved it, feeling foolish. The window next to her shattered, and she jumped back, shocked.

"Nope." Ollivander took it back. Then he searched around again. "What about this? Fifteen inches, vine wood, dragon heartstring, nice and solid. Good for powerful spells." He passed it to her, and she waved it. Ollivander quickly snatched it away.

They kept on searching for the right wand, until Sophia felt like she'd tried all of the wands in the shop. Woods she hadn't even heard of, so many different lengths she couldn't count them all.

"Let's try this one." Ollivander looked exhausted. "Twelve inches, blackthorn, phoenix feather core, and only a slight bit of flexibility. Good for offensive magic." Once again, he passed her the wand. But this time, she felt a warm feeling coming from the wand. She waved it, and this time, silver sparks flew out the end.

"Well, I definitely didn't expect that." Ollivander muttered to himself. Then he brightened up. "Well, as I say, the wand chooses the wizard, Miss Longbottom. And this wand has definitely chosen you." He gave her a small smile, as McGonagall ushered her out the door.

"Well, that took longer than I've ever seen it take." McGonagall sighed, as they walked back along Diagon Alley, to the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron.

"Is that a bad thing?" Sophia asked, studying her new wand.

"No, not at all! Lots of people take a long time getting their wands. It's not uncommon."

They went through the Leaky Cauldron, and walked to the train platform, where their train was about to leave. They quickly boarded, and the whole ride, Sophia looked at her new school supplies. As their train was pulling in to the station, McGonagall turned to her, and handed her an envelope.

"In here is your train ticket." She explained. "It leaves at exactly eleven o'clock on the first of September, at King's Cross Station. Do _not_ be late, otherwise you'll miss it." The teacher hopped off the train, and said, "One last thing." Sophia turned to her.

McGonagall looked uncomfortable. "When you first arrive, you will have your name called out. But we've been having some trouble with your last name. We need to know whether you'd like to be called Sophia Longbottom, or Sophia Creevey."

Sophia thought about the way Ollivander had called her 'Miss Longbottom'. It made her feel good, like firecrackers were going off in her stomach. But at the same time, it didn't feel right, like it didn't quite fit. And although she knew what she really wanted to say, she knew what the right answer was.

"Creevey." She answered firmly. "I'm Sophia Creevey."

"Very well." McGonagall nodded. "I can see your father. Let's go."

As they walked to him, McGonagall smiled at her. "I'll see you at Hogwarts, Miss Creevey." And when Sophia looked next to her again, she was gone.

 **A/N:** Hi again! I felt like this chapter was kind of boring, but I had to put that in, so I hope it wasn't _too_ bad. I'm most worried about my geography. I don't live in the UK, or anywhere near it, so I had to do a lot of research to be able to write about a place in the UK. I hope I didn't stuff anything up completely! If you have any suggestions, feel free to tell me. Thanks!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter. The only characters I own is Sophia and Lizzie.


	4. Chapter 4

**Stand by my side**

 **Chapter 4**

Sophia had never liked saying goodbye. But in her last month until she left for Hogwarts, she felt like she was saying goodbye to everyone she knew.

She said goodbye to the crazy cat lady who lived two blocks up. Then she said goodbye to her teachers. Then her classmates. Then, to the lady who ran 5 kilometres every Friday, who would stop and talk to her when she had a drink break. She said goodbye to the girls who hung around in the park, and the man who was always seen with his dog. She said goodbye to the nice lady and her kids, who lived next door.

Then, she said goodbye to Lizzie. They'd hugged, and Sophia had told her she would write letters to her. Lizzie's eyes were red and puffy from crying, but she still managed to smile.

She held off saying goodbye to her family for as long as she could. She didn't think she would be able to when the time came.

On the night of the thirty-first of August, Sophia started packing her trunk. She had tried to read a bit of one of her school books, but she had quickly found out that they were quite boring. She much preferred fiction books. She packed all of her school equipment, then looked around to see what else she should take.

She packed some of her own books, in case she got bored. She packed heaps of extra clothes, for free time. She took paper and a pen for writing letters. She put in her bag of money, even though she wasn't sure if she would have to use it. She put in the book Dennis had made, and although she wanted to put the pots of paint in as well, she decided they would make too much of a mess. She put in drawing pencils, and drawing paper. Lastly, she put in the pocket knife that she had recently been carrying around everywhere. Then she clipped it shut and carried it to just inside the front door, so she was ready.

"Sophia?" Sophia turned around to see her father standing behind her. "Colin and Dennis want you to come and say goodnight."

"Okay." Sophia slipped past him and up the stairs, to their bedroom.

"Hey guys." She quietly closed the door behind her.

"Sophia?" Dennis whispered. "I don't want you to go."

"I know." Sophia sat down on the end of his bed. "But I'll get to see you at Christmas, and in the summer holidays."

"That's not enough. That's hardly ever!"

"Don't worry. I'll be back before you even realise I'm gone." She leant over, and kissed his forehead, then walked over to Colin's bed and kissed him too. Then she walked to the door.

"Goodnight." She whispered. Then she quietly closed the door behind her, and headed to her own bedroom, to get some sleep.

When Sophia woke up, it took her a minute to remember what was happening today. When she did remember, she sat up quickly and checked what time it was. 3.47 am. She laid back down, but could not get back to sleep, so she sat up, and ran through her mental checklist one more time. _Robes._ Check _. Cauldron_. Check _. Books._ Check _. Anything else?_ She racked her brains. _The tickets._ She grabbed the envelope off her bedside table. Now all she had to do was wait.

After an hour of just lying in bed, half an hour of sitting in bed, twenty minutes of pacing the room, and ten minutes of jumping up and down in excitement, Sophia decided it was late enough to go downstairs for breakfast. When she arrived at the kitchen, Colin and Dennis were already there. They smiled weakly.

"We made you breakfast." Colin gestured to a plate with a hot piece of toast sitting on it. "We decided bacon wasn't the best idea."

Sophia tried for a smile, but it felt forced. "Thanks." She settled down in between the two of them. "Now, you two are going to be good while I'm not here, right?"

Dennis smirked. "Can't guarantee that." Sophia laughed, glad things weren't as tense anymore. She pretended to give him a disapproving frown, and they both laughed.

"I'm glad you're having fun." Dad was back. He smiled at them, but he looked sad. "I booked train tickets to get to King's Cross for all four of us. Finish your breakfast quickly, because we're leaving at six o'clock."

At 10.24, they were just arriving at King's Cross station.

"I guess we say goodbye here?" Dad suggested. Sophia looked at him, and he widened his arms. She ran into them, and they stayed there for a moment, not wanting to let go. Then Sophia pulled away. She then went over to Colin.

"I'm going to miss you!" she whispered as she hugged him.

"Me too." He whispered back. Then, finally, she went over to Dennis.

"Look after Colin for me, okay?" she said.

"Okay." Dennis looked like he was about to burst into tears. Sophia ruffled his hair.

"I'll see you all at Christmas, okay?" She tried to ignore the tears building up in her eyes.

Dad checked his watch. "We need to go now. Stay safe, Sophia." Smiling, they walked back to the car, waving at her. She waved back, then turned around, not wanting to look.

"Now, let's see what platform I'm on." She said to herself. She opened the envelope with the tickets in it, and her heart stopped when she saw the platform number.

"Platform nine and three quarters?" she cried, then looked around to make sure no one had heard her. When she was sure it was okay, she looked back at the ticket, trying to make sure it wasn't a trick of the light. When she confirmed that was definitely what it said, she started to panic.

"Are you okay?" a voice behind her asked, and Sophia turned around to see a girl standing behind her. She had blond curly hair, and was wearing a pink hairband.

"Yeah, I just don't know where my platform is." Sophia said, wondering whether she was a muggle or a witch. When the girl's eyes lit up in understanding, Sophia decided to presume she was a witch. "Can you show me how to get there?"

"Of cause! Just follow me."

Sophia walked with the girl until she decided she should learn more about her.

"What's your name?" Sophia asked.

"Lavender. Lavender Brown. And you?"

"Sophia Creevey."

"Nice to meet you. Are you muggleborn?"

Sophia felt herself blushing, and she looked away. "I was brought up by Muggles."

"Oh. I'm pureblood."

They walked in silence, until they reached platforms nine and ten. Lavender pointed at the wall in between the platforms.

"To get to platform nine and three quarters, you just run straight at the wall." She explained. Sophia stared at her. "Don't worry, I'm not crazy. Here, I'll go first, to show you." She ran straight at the wall, and to Sophia's surprise, instead of colliding with it, she passed straight through. Sophia sighed.

"Here I go," she muttered, and, copying what Lavender did, ran straight at the brick wall. She braced herself for impact, but when she reached the wall, she passed straight through, like it was made of air. When she got to the other side, she gasped.

She was looking at a new platform, with a train sitting, waiting for eleven o'clock. People were wandering around, parents were saying goodbye to their kids, and kids were piling into the train. Sophia followed the crowd onto the train, having lost sight of Lavender, and dragged her trunk into an empty compartment. People rushed past, looking for their friends, until a gang of people marched in to her compartment. A boy stepped forward. He had light blond hair, and a rather pale, pointed face. He carried himself with confidence, and Sophia could immediately see that he was the leader.

"Hi, there's no other empty compartments, and we need to all sit together, so, we were wondering whether you could move to a different compartment." The boy said. He didn't make it sound like a question. Sophia felt uncomfortable.

"Oh, well…" she trailed off, unsure on what to do.

"Oh, just get out of here." A girl snapped, and grabbed her arm. Another guy grabbed her trunk, and they escorted Sophia out of the compartment, and shut the door behind them. Sophia huffed and grabbed her trunk, angry at them for kicking her out, and angry at herself for not standing up to them. She looked around for the emptiest compartment she could find, but all of them seemed to be full. She wandered around, until she found one with only two boys in it, so she slid the door open slightly. The two boys looked at her. They were probably about her age. One boy had ginger hair, a long nose, and a face covered in freckles. The other had messy black hair, with bright green eyes underneath a pair of glasses. Sophia felt herself blushing.

"Do you mind if I sit in here?" she asked. "Everywhere else is full."

"Sure!" the black haired smiled, and moved his trunk of a seat. Grateful, Sophia walked in and took a seat.

"I'm Ron Weasley," the red-haired boy grinned.

"And I'm Harry Potter." The black-haired boy said.

"I'm Sophia Creevey."

"You must be muggleborn." Ron studied her. "If you were pureblood, or even half-blood, you would have heard of Harry, and showed recognition."

Sophia blushed. "I was raised by Muggles, but I'm not Muggleborn. My parents…" For some reason, she didn't feel comfortable telling anyone that her parents had been tortured to insanity. "Uh… They died when I was young. I was sent to an orphanage, and adopted by a Muggle family."

"My parents died when I was young too." Harry said softly, with so much sadness that it made Sophia want to take back the lie and apologize for his loss. But it was too late now.

Harry and Ron let her have a bit of the sweets they had bought. Ron and Harry told her about their lives, and Sophia told them about hers, until there was a knock on the door of their compartment, and a boy came in. He had tears in his eyes.

"Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?"

The three of them shook their heads, and he wailed. "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"

"He'll turn up," said Harry.

"Yes," the boy sighed. "Well, if you see him…" He left.

"Don't know why he's so bothered," said Ron. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I can. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk."

Sophia suddenly realised there was a rat sleeping on Ron's lap. She supposed that was Scabbers.

"He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference," Ron said, disgust filling his voice. "I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look…"

He rummaged around in his trunk until he found a very battered-looking wand, with something white threatening to come out of it at the top.

"Unicorn hair's nearly poking out. Anyway –

He raised his wand to do the spell, when the compartment door slid open again, revealing the toadless boy with a girl that had bushy brown hair and large front teeth.

"Has anyone seen a toad?" she said in a bossy voice. "Neville's lost one."

Sophia felt her heart start racing. _Neville._ Neville was the name of her brother. That boy was her brother. She couldn't help but stare at him, and the conversation going on around her was muffled by the throbbing in her head. He didn't look anything like her. He was short, and had blond hair. His face was kind of round, and he had slight buck teeth. Sophia had thought they would be identical, but she guessed not all twins were. And she'd thought she would know it was him at first sight, like she'd feel a connection, a bond. That had definitely not happened. And before she knew it, Neville and the girl had gone.

"Sophia, are you alright?" she heard Harry say. "You look like you've seen a ghost." Sophia took a deep breath.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just need to go for a walk." She rummaged around in her trunk until she found her robes. She walked off, refusing to look at the two boys, and didn't listen when they called her name. She needed to get changed.

She found a compartment with Lavender and a few other girls in it, and knocked on the door. "Can I get changed in here?" she asked. "I just need a quick break from the boys."

They let her in, and once she was in her robes, she thanked them and headed back to the compartment Harry and Ron were in. When she was nearly there, a boy rushed past, followed by two big guys. It was the pale boy that had taken over the compartment she had originally been in, and two of his friends. The pale boy glared at her as she went past.

The bushy haired girl was just leaving the compartment when Sophia got there. She knocked on the door, and slid it open.

"Quickly come in and close the door!" Ron said. She did as he asked. They had just put their robes on. Ron's was slightly too short for him.

A voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

Sophia couldn't help but feel worried, but to her relief, Harry and Ron looked worried too. They stuffed the rest of the sweets in their pockets, and stepped out of the compartment and into the crowd that had gathered in the corridor.

When the train stopped, people pushed their way out and onto a tiny dark platform. Sophia heard a familiar voice calling: "Firs'-years! Firs'-years! All right there, Harry?" Sophia recognised it as Hagrid, the big man who had been at the Leaky Cauldron.

"C'mon, follow me- any more firs'-years?" Hagrid called as they moved closer to him, pushing through the waves of people. "Mind yer step, now! Firs'-years follow me!"

The first-years, including Sophia, Harry and Ron, followed Hagrid down a steep, narrow path.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec, jus' round this bend here."

Sophia gasped, along with most of her classmates. The path had opened up to a big black lake. Perched on a high mountain on the other side was giant castle with heaps of turrets and towers.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid yelled, and pointed to a fleet of boats sitting in the water by the shore. Sophia hopped into a boat with Harry, Ron, and a sandy-haired boy.

"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid. "Right then- FORWARD!"

With that, the fleet of boats started moving on their own, and headed towards the castle. Everyone kept quiet, watching the spectacular sight draw closer and closer.

As they reached the cliff, they passed under a curtain of ivy, being careful to keep their heads down, which hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They went down a dark tunnel, which seemed to be right underneath the castle, until they reached an underground harbour, where they all clambered off their boats. Hagrid checked all the boats to make sure nothing was left behind, and called out when he found a toad, much to Neville's excitement. They then clambered up a rock passageway, then came out onto smooth, damp grass, which was right in the shadow of the castle.

Blood was pounding so hard in her ears, she hardly heard what Hagrid said next. She watched him lift his fist and knock three times on the door of the castle.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hello! I've been really shocked at how many people have viewed my story already! I'm sure it's hardly any compared to most people's stories, but I was not expecting this many! Thank you to all of those who have read my story so far!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter. The only people I own is Sophia and Lizzie.


	5. Chapter 5

**Stand by my side**

 **Chapter 5**

The door swung open, and there stood Professor McGonagall.

"The firs'-years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."

She pulled the door open further, to reveal the Entrance Hall. It was _so_ big, bigger than any room Sophia had seen before. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches, and the ceiling was so high, she couldn't make out how high it went. A beautiful staircase made from marble faced them, that probably led to the upper floors.

The cluster of kids followed Professor McGonagall across the hall. A door to their right sounded like it had lots of people inside- the rest of the school were probably in there- but Professor McGonagall instead led them past it, to a small chamber. They all clumped together, and Sophia glanced over at Harry and Ron. Harry smiled at her nervously, and Ron pulled a face.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said McGonagall, and for a second, she thought the teacher looked directly at her. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting Ceremony is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

McGonagall glanced at a few people in particular, including Ron. "I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly." She left the chamber, and Sophia heard Harry gulp beside her.

"How do they sort us?" she asked Ron.

"Some sort of a test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking."

Sophia shrugged. She'd never been nervous before tests, even hard ones. But looking at Harry, and the rest of the kids, she realised that she was one of the only ones who wasn't nervous.

Then she heard people scream behind her, and Harry jumped in fright.

"What the-?" he started. Then he gasped, and so did she.

About twenty ghosts had just glided through the back wall. They were pearly white, and slightly transparent, and they seemed to be arguing. One that looked like a fat monk was saying, "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance-"

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not even a ghost- I say, what are you all doing here?" A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had noticed them.

None of the first-years answered.

"New students!" said the Fat Friar. "About to be sorted, I suppose?" A few people nodded. "Hope to see you in Hufflepuff! My old house, you know."

"Move along now," McGonagall said sharply, walking into the room. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start." The ghosts floated away.

"Now, form a line, and follow me." McGonagall instructed the first years. Now starting to feel slightly nervous, Sophia got in line behind Ron, with someone she didn't know behind her, and they all walked out of the chamber and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.

Sophia didn't think words would be able to describe how amazing it looked. Candles were floating in mid-air above them, lighting up the room. Four long tables went down the length of the room, where all the students were sitting. At the top of the hall, there was another long table, but going across the room. The rest of the teachers were sitting there. Professor McGonagall led them the front of the teachers table, and they turned to face the other students that were looking at them. Embarrassed at how many people were looking at them, Sophia looked at her feet.

McGonagall placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years, and placed a dirty wizards hat on it. Everyone in the hall stared at it, as if waiting for something to happen. Then the hat twitched, and a rip that looked a lot like a mouth opened at the brim. Then the hat started to sing.

' _Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_

 _But don't judge on what you see,_

 _I'll eat myself if you can find_

 _A smarter hat than me._

 _You can keep your bowlers black,_

 _Your top hats sleek and tall,_

 _For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

 _And I can cap them all._

 _There's nothing hidden in your head_

 _The Sorting Hat can't see,_

 _So try me on and I will tell you_

 _Where you ought to be._

 _You might belong in Gryffindor,_

 _Where dwell the brave at heart,_

 _Their daring, nerve and chivalry_

 _Set Gryffindors apart;_

 _You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

 _Where they are just and loyal,_

 _Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

 _And unafraid of toil;_

 _Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

 _If you've a ready mind,_

 _Where those of wit and learning,_

 _Will always find their kind;_

 _Or perhaps in Slytherin_

 _You'll make your real friends,_

 _Those cunning folk use any means_

 _To achieve their ends._

 _So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

 _And don't get in a flap!_

 _You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

 _For I'm a Thinking Cap!'_

Everyone applauded as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each table, then became still again.

"So we've just got to try on the hat!" Ron whispered. "I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll."

Sophia was glad they only had to try on the hat, but she still felt nervous. Based on the hat's song, she didn't think she fit into any of the houses. She definitely wasn't brave, and she wasn't smart, and she wasn't cunning. Hufflepuff seemed like the best choice, but she didn't think she was that kind.

McGonagall stepped forward holding a roll of parchment.

"When I call out your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"

A girl with blond pigtails hurried over to the hat, and placed it on her head and sat down. After a moment of silence-

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat. The table on the right cheered loudly as Hannah went to sit down.

"Bones, Susan!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" called the hat, and as Susan scuttled to the same table, Sophia realised they were going in alphabetical order. Which meant she would be near the beginning.

"Boot, Terry!"

"RAVENCLAW!" The table second from the left clapped and shook hands with Terry as he went to sit down with them.

As 'Brocklehurst, Mandy' became a Ravenclaw, and Lavender Brown became a Gryffindor, Sophia started to feel more and more nervous. 'Bulstrode, Millicent' became a Slytherin. 'Corner, Michael'. 'Cornfoot, Stephan'. 'Crabbe, Vincent'. And then…

"Creevey, Sophia!" McGonagall called. She gulped and stepped out of line.

"Good luck." Ron whispered, and Harry gave her a supportive smile. She slowly walked up to the stool, trying not to blush at all the people watching her. She picked up the hat, and placed it on her head, then sat down.

'Well, well, well,' the hat said in her head, making her jump. 'Sophia Longbottom.'

 _My name's Creevey,_ she thought to herself.

'Even if your name changes, you don't,' the hat said. 'Sophia Longbottom and Sophia Creevey are the same person."

 _Wait… You can hear my thoughts?_

'Don't you remember my song? _There's nothing hidden in your head the Sorting Hat can't see_? Of cause I can hear your thoughts!'

 _Oh. I didn't think of that._

'Obviously. Now, where to put you…'

 _I didn't think I suited any of the houses._

'Rubbish! In fact, I'm having trouble deciding which one to put you in. You have potential for all four houses.'

 _Really? But I'm not a Gryffindor! I'm not brave or daring! I get scared of anything!_

'You are brave. Bravery isn't doing stupid dangerous things! It's facing your fears, and standing up for what you believe in.'

 _And I'm not a Hufflepuff! I'm not that kind, and I always make everyone mad!_

'But you're loyal, and hard-working. And you are kind, and try to make everyone happy!'

 _I'm not a Ravenclaw, because I'm not smart! Have you seen my school reports? They're horrible!_

'True, you're not the most academically skilled person I've met, but that's not all Ravenclaw's about! It's also about thinking logically and problem solving, which you are good at. It's also about creativity, and I know you're creative.'

 _And I'm not cunning and sneaky like Slytherins!_

'I've got two points. One: may I remind you of the time you sweet talked your Geography teacher out of giving you detention? If that wasn't cunning and sly, then I don't know what is. Two: Slytherin is also about ambition, and you are definitely ambitious.'

 _I still don't think I suit any of them._

'You're very stubborn, I'll give you that. Even more stubborn than Minerva McGonagall! She argued against her being in Ravenclaw until I decided that her stubbornness showed she was a Gryffindor, which is what she wanted. Anyway, do you have a preference for which house you're in?'

 _Um… Not really._

'Okay then, I'll decide. And before you go, I'd like you know that this has been the most interesting conversation I've had in a long time. You'll be a great witch, Sophia Creevey. So thank you.'

 _Uh, no problem._

'Well, I think it better be…'

"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat shouted to everyone in the room, and the Gryffindor table cheered as she took off the hat and placed it on the stool, before heading over to her house table. She sat down next to Lavender, who grinned at her.

"The Sorting Hat must have been having some trouble with you, huh?"

Sophia frowned. "How do you know?"

Lavender stared at her in shock. "Sophia! You sat there for about twenty minutes until it decided!"

Sophia looked back up at the hat, who was sorting a boy. "Really? It didn't feel like that long!"

"Yeah. Professor McGonagall was considering taking it off you, but Professor Dumbledore told her to wait."

"Oh," She turned back around, not wanting to talk about it anymore. The sandy-haired boy she shared a boat with, who she found out was called Seamus Finnigan, had just been sorted into Gryffindor. A few more people came up and got sorted, until 'Granger, Hermione' was called, and the frizzy-haired girl from the train ran up and jammed the hat on her head. When the hat sorted her into Gryffindor, she saw Ron groan from in the line, and had to suppress a smile.

When Neville Longbottom was called up, Sophia watched him carefully. She could see a little bit of her behaviour in him. He blushed as he walked up, and looked nervous as he placed the hat on his head. When the hat called Gryffindor, Sophia couldn't help but smile as he accidentally forgot about the hat still on his head and started walking to her table. He had to rush back to give it to the next person on the list. He sat down exactly across from her, and she avoided looking at him, instead watching the ceremony.

The pale boy swaggered up when McGonagall called 'Malfoy, Draco', and the Sorting Hat declared him a Slytherin before it even touched his head. From what Ron told her, Slytherin was the house that all the evil wizards came from, and she decided that it was a good choice to put him in Slytherin.

The girl that had grabbed her arm was called Pansy Parkinson, and she was sorted into Slytherin. She looked smug, and Sophia decided that she hated that girl.

Person after person came up and were sorted, until finally McGonagall called 'Potter, Harry'. Harry looked like he wanted to be sick. As soon as they heard his name, people started whispering.

"Harry Potter?"

"As in _the_ Harry Potter?"

"Wow."

Next to her, Lavender squealed. "Harry Potter! It's Harry Potter!"

"I know," Sophia smiled. "I sat in a compartment with him."

Lavender stared at her. "Really? Is he as amazing as they say?"

"I don't know what they say, but he was nice."

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat yelled, and the whole of Gryffindor started cheering, and Sophia joined in. Harry looked like he was going to pass out from relief as he walked over to the Gryffindor table, and sat down next to her. Lavender couldn't help but stare at him.

There were only a few people left now. 'Turpin, Lisa' was sorted into Ravenclaw, and then 'Weasley, Ronald' was called. Ron shuffled up to the hat, and placed it on his head. The hat considered him for a second, before calling out Gryffindor. Sophia and Harry cheered as loud as they could as Ron came to sit with them.

"Well done, Ron, excellent," An older boy with red hair and a prefect badge said, and Sophia assumed he was one of Ron's brothers. Probably Percy, as Ron had said he was a prefect. After the last boy, 'Zabini, Blaise' became a Slytherin, Professor McGonagall rolled up the parchment and took the Sorting Hat away. Even though it didn't have eyes, Sophia could swear it was looking at her.

She noticed Harry looking at the plate in front of him, and suddenly felt hungry. She hoped the food would come soon.

Albus Dumbledore stood up. He beamed at everyone in the room.

"Welcome!" he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"

He sat back down, and everyone clapped and cheered as if he had just given a great speech. Sophia clapped as well, even though she was confused. Harry was obviously confused as well.

She suddenly noticed that the dishes had just filled up with food, so she started to dig in. They had never had this much food in one meal before, so she scooped as much onto her plate as she could.

"That does look good," said the ghost in the ruff, who was sitting across from Harry, staring longingly at his plate.

"Can't you-?" Harry started.

"I haven't eaten for nearly five hundred years," the ghost said. "I don't need to, of course, but one does miss it. I don't think I've introduced myself? Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower."

"I know who you are!" Ron exclaimed. "My brothers told me about you- you're Nearly Headless Nick!"

Sir Nicholas looked irritated. "I would prefer if you called me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-

" _Nearly_ Headless?" Sophia interrupted. "How can you be _nearly_ headless?"

The ghost sighed. "Like _this_ ," he said. He grabbed his left ear and pulled, and his whole head came off, except for a little bit of neck that wasn't cut off properly. Sophia screamed, Harry gasped, Ron went green, Hermione's eyes went wide, Lavender put a hand over her mouth, Seamus Finnigan covered his eyes, and Neville squealed and looked away. Nearly Headless Nick looked pleased with himself and flipped his head back onto his head. "So- new Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help us win the House Championship this year? Gryffindor have gone so long without winning. Slytherin have got the cup six years in a row! The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable- he's the Slytherin ghost." Harry turned his head to look at the Bloody Baron, but Sophia decided that she didn't want to see him if he was as bad as Nearly Headless Nick.

"How did he get covered in blood?" asked Seamus Finnigan.

"I've never asked."

Once everyone was full, the desert appeared, and Sophia dug in. To her horror, the conversation at the table turned to their families.

"I'm half and half," said Seamus. "Me dad's a Muggle. Mam didn't tell him she was a witch 'til after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock for him." Everyone laughed, so Sophia did too, to seem polite.

"What about you, Neville?" Ron asked.

"Well, my gran brought me up and she's a witch," said Neville, "But the family thought I was Muggle for ages. My great-uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me- he pushed off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned- but nothing happened until I was eight. Great-uncle Algie came round for tea and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my great-auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidently let go. But I bounced- all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased. Gran was crying, she was so happy. And you should have seen their faces when I got in here- they thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great-uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad."

"What about you, Sophia?" suggested Seamus.

Sophia looked down. "Um… I was brought up by Muggles, but I'm a pureblood." She quickly glanced at Neville, to see if he showed any sign of recognition, but he didn't seem to think much of it.

Seamus looked like he wanted to ask more, but he saw her face, and saw that she didn't want to talk about it, so he didn't say anything else.

Suddenly, Harry clenched his head, and said 'Ouch!'

"What is it?" asked Percy.

"N- nothing." He sounded scared. "Who's that teacher talking to Quirrell?"

"Oh, you know Quirrell already, do you? No wonder he's looking so nervous, that's Professor Snape. He teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to- everyone knows he's after Quirrell's job. Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape."

After a minute, Dumbledore stood up again, and the dessert disappeared. The Hall became silent. Dumbledore gave a bit of a speech, and the school sung the school song, but Sophia wasn't really paying attention. She was looking at Neville out of the corner of her eye. Then, they had to return to their common rooms. The first-year Gryffindors followed Percy to their common room, which seemed very complicated. They had to say a password to a portrait, which opened the door to the common room and they stepped inside. The boys went one way, and the girls went another, up a spiral staircase, and to their beds. Sophia's trunk had been brought up, as well as all the other's trunks. Sophia quickly got in her pyjamas and fell into bed. She had been planning on reading a bit before bed, but she was too tired. Her eyes felt heavy, so she closed them, and quickly drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hi guys! From now on, I'm not going to be updating as often. Thanks for the nice reviews I've got! It's really appreciated!

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter. The only characters I own are Sophia and Lizzie.


	6. Chapter 6

**Stand by my side**

 **Chapter 6**

Sophia woke up early the next day and decided to read for a bit. She pulled out her copy of _What Katy Did_ , and started reading. She had been reading for about ten minutes before someone else woke up.

"Oh, what book are you reading?" Hermione Granger looked at her.

Sophia blushed, and showed her the cover of the book.

"Oh, I haven't read that, but I've heard it's really good. What's your name again?"

"Sophia Creevey."

"That's right. You're the girl who the Sorting Hat couldn't decide on, right?"

"Yeah, that's me." Sophia didn't really want to talk, but Hermione was insistent.

"Have you read any of your schoolbooks? I've tried to memorise all of them, but I'm worried I've forgotten something. I've heard that some teachers quiz you on the first day. Which subjects are you looking forward to? I'm excited for Transfiguration mostly, because it sounds _really_ interesting! Although, Percy said it's really-"

"Um, if you don't mind, you're giving me a headache." Sophia interrupted, then felt bad about the look of disappointment on Hermione's face. "Sorry."

"Oh, it's okay!" Hermione recovered quickly. "Do you mind me reading that after you?"

"Uh, sure," Sophia said. Hermione looked pleased, and proceeded to quietly get changed. Sophia put her book down, and decided to get ready too.

Sophia went pretty well until Friday. She was good with directions, so she didn't get lost much. She wasn't great at any subjects, but she wasn't bad either. The only subject she was _really_ bad at was Herbology. She hung around with Harry and Ron, or with Lavender and her friend Parvati Patil. She kept an eye on Neville, to see what he was like. She was enjoying Hogwarts. She had already written a letter to her family, telling them what it was like. She had got a letter back, saying that they were glad she was having fun, and how surprised they were when an _owl_ started pecking at the window.

On Friday morning, Sophia sat with Harry and Ron at breakfast.

"What have we got today?" Sophia asked as she buttered her piece of toast.

"Double Potions with the Slytherins," Ron answered. "Snape's Head of Slytherin house. They say he always favours them- we'll be able to see if it's true."

"Wish McGonagall favoured us," Harry said. McGonagall was the Head of Gryffindor, but she had still given them a big pile of homework.

Then, the post arrived. Sophia was still getting used to the owls flying into the Great Hall, but she didn't get as scared. Harry's owl, Hedwig, dropped a letter in front of him, and he opened it excitedly. He quickly scanned it.

"It's from Hagrid," he told them. "He asked if I'd like to come and have tea with him. You guys can come, if you want."

"Oh, yes please!" Ron smiled. Sophia nodded. Harry wrote a reply, then sent Hedwig off again.

They had to go down to the dungeons for Potions. Sophia didn't like it down there. It was dark and made her think of horror movies.

The teacher, Snape, took the roll, but paused when he got to Harry's name.

"Ah, yes," he said quietly. "Harry Potter. Our new- _celebrity_."

Draco Malfoy and his two cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, sniggered, and Sophia could see Harry going red. Snape finished the role, and then looked up at the class.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," he said softly. "As there is little foolish wand-waving in here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses… I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death- if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

Sophia was fascinated now, although she did think the last comment was a bit harsh. Most of the class looked either bored or worried, or both. The only person who wasn't was Hermione, who obviously didn't want to be called a dunderhead.

"Potter!" Snape said suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Harry looked as confused as Sophia felt. In fact, the only person who seemed to know was Hermione, who had shot her hand in the air.

"I don't know, sir," said Harry.

Snape sneered. "Tut, tut- fame clearly isn't everything." He acted as if he couldn't see Hermione's hand.

"Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

Hermione stretched her hand as far it would go, but Snape ignored it. Harry obviously didn't have a clue. She could hear Malfoy snickering.

"I don't know, sir," Harry said again.

"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?"

Sophia thought that was unfair. She knew Harry had looked through it, but he couldn't be expected to remember everything.

"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

Hermione literally stood up, trying to touch the roof with her hand.

"I don't know," Harry said quietly. "I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her?"

Sophia laughed, along with a few other people, before stopping herself. Snape did not look impressed.

"Sit down," he snapped at Hermione. "For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you copying all that down?"

Everyone quickly rummaged for quills and parchment, and over the noise, Sophia heard Snape say, "And a point will be taken from Gryffindor house for your cheek, Potter."

Snape put them in pairs to make a potion that cured boils. To Sophia's excitement and horror, she was partnered with Neville. He was pretty hopeless at it, but Sophia thought she was actually pretty good at it, so she took charge, which he seemed relieved about. He acted normal around her, and Sophia wondered if he even knew he had a twin sister.

They were going pretty well. They weren't going fantastic, but they were going better than Harry and Ron.

"Um, Neville, can you take the cauldron off the fire and then add the porcupine quills while I do this?" she asked him. Neville nodded, so she turned away to crush their snake fangs. She turned around to see Neville about to drop the quills in. While it was still on the fire.

"Neville, no!" she cried, but it was too late. He had already dropped them in. To her dismay, her cauldron started melting, and the potion spilt. Sophia felt it burning the bottoms of her shoes as the potion spread, so she quickly jumped onto her stool, and people copied her. Poor Neville had been drenched with it when the cauldron collapsed, and red boils sprang up all over his body.

"Idiot boy!" Snape snarled, and he cleared the potion off the floor with one wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?" Neville whimpered in response.

"Take him to the hospital wing," Snape growled at Sophia, and she quickly grabbed Neville's arm and pulled him out of the classroom.

"Sorry, Sophia," Neville whimpered as they walked. She looked at him, before remembering who he was, and quickly looking away.

"Don't worry about it," she replied. She was a bit angry, but she knew it was an accident. "I'll just get another cauldron."

Neville looked at her. "Are you okay? You're acting like you don't want to look at me."

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sophia lied, uneasiness boiling inside her. She knew she would have to tell him they were related at some point, but she kept holding it off, not wanting to embarrass herself.

They made it to the hospital wing, and Madam Pomfrey immediately started fussing and scolding Neville at the same time. She told Sophia to go back to class, so Sophia reluctantly trudged back down to the dungeons, where Snape had somehow repaired her cauldron. She had to start all over again, but she was doing it alone, so she found it much faster. Snape came over and checked her potion, and even he looked a tiny bit impressed.

"You've proved you're not a dunderhead, for now," he said, before going and checking Ron and Harry's.

As they climbed the steps out of the dungeon, Harry seemed down, and Ron and Sophia tried to make him feel better.

"Cheer up," said Ron. "Snape's always taking points off Fred and George."

"And two points isn't going to matter much to the score," Sophia added. "Besides, you don't want to be upset when we're at Hagrid's, do you?" Harry brightened up at the thought of Hagrid.

At five to three, they headed across the grounds to Hagrid's house, if you could call it that. It was more of a wooden hut sitting on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Harry knocked on the door, and there was a noise of scrambling, a dog barking, and Hagrid telling the dog to get back.

He opened the door for them, with a bit of difficulty; the dog was still trying to get to them. " _Back,_ Fang," he said to it, and Sophia felt scared for a moment. She didn't like the sound of a dog called Fang.

They walked in, and Hagrid closed the door and let go of a giant black boarhound. Sophia backed up, but it went over to Ron and started licking his ears, which made Ron laugh, and Sophia forced herself to calm down as she saw the dog was friendly.

"This is Ron and Sophia," Harry told Hagrid.

"Another Weasley, eh?" Hagrid said as he brought a plate of rock cakes over to them. "I spent half me life chasin' yer twin brothers away from the Forest. And yeh're," Hagrid looked at her, "yeh're the one that the Sortin' 'At couldn't decide on, eh?" Sophia nodded politely as she attempted to eat a rock cake, and wondered if that was who she was going to be known as for the rest of her life. Already this week, she had noticed people calling her 'the hat-stall girl'.

Sophia let Harry and Ron talk about school, while she just sat there, nibbling on her rock cake. She was hardly paying attention, even when she vaguely Hagrid talking about dragons with Ron. She'd been kept awake quite a few nights this week, thinking about Neville, and Colin and Dennis, and her father, and her _real_ father and mother, so she was lacking in energy. She only jerked to attention when she realised the boys were leaving, and quickly hopped up to follow them. As they walked back, Sophia could tell Harry was worrying about something.

Sophia was one of the first people to see the notice about flying lessons, and her stomach immediately tied in knots. She had always been terrified of heights, and that was when she was standing on a more solid object than a broom. She had heard lots of stories from the people who were brought up by wizards. She constantly heard Malfoy gloating about his experiences, and complaining about first-years not being allowed them. Seamus Finnigan told everyone about flying for most of his childhood. Ron would tell the same story over and over about nearly crashing Charlie's old broom into a hang-glider. And everyone would talk about Quidditch.

 _At least some people are as nervous as me,_ Sophia thought. Harry kept glancing at the Slytherin table, probably worried about making a fool of himself in front of Malfoy. Neville was one of the only people from a wizarding family that hadn't ridden on a broom, and he looked completely terrified. Hermione, who Sophia thought was kind of annoying, had borrowed _Quidditch through the Ages_ from the library, and was telling them tips she had found in it. No one was really paying attention except for Sophia and Neville. Everyone else seemed glad when the post interrupted her.

Sophia watched as an owl flew in and dropped a package on Neville's lap. He unwrapped it excitedly, and held it up. It was a glass ball, full of white smoke.

"What is that?" Sophia asked, looking at him, and then realised she hadn't blushed when she looked at him. She mentally congratulated herself.

"It's a Remembrall!" Neville explained. "Gran knows I forget things- this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red- oh…" He looked disappointed as the ball turned a scarlet colour, "…you've forgotten something…"

Neville looked thoughtful, trying to figure out what he had forgotten, when Draco Malfoy walked past and grabbed it out of his hands. Harry and Ron both jumped up, ready for a fight, but Sophia found herself glued to her seat. Metaphorically. She hated Malfoy just as much as the boys, but she could not make herself stand up and face Malfoy too. She managed a small glare, before lowering her gaze. She scolded herself for being too timid to help. But it turned out they didn't need her help, as McGonagall turned up.

"What's going on?" the teacher asked them.

"Malfoy's got my Remembrall, Professor."

Malfoy scowled, and dropped the Remembrall back on the table.

"Just looking," he said, and stalked off, Crabbe and Goyle close on his heels.

At three-thirty, Sophia, Harry, Ron and the rest of the Gryffindors hurried out to the grounds for their first flying lesson. The Slytherins were already there, along with twenty broomsticks. The Weasley twins, Fred and George, had been complaining about the school brooms, which just made Sophia even more worried.

The teacher, Madam Hooch, arrived, and barked at them to stand by a broomstick, and Sophia quickly stepped to a broom. It didn't look very safe. She gulped, trying to swallow her fear.

"Stick your right hand over your broom," instructed Madam Hooch, "and say, 'Up!"

"UP!" everyone shouted.

Sophia's broom left the ground by about an inch, then fell back down. She had a look around. To her relief, hardly anyone had actually succeeded first go. Harry was one of the only ones who was holding his broom. She kept on trying, and eventually it obeyed.

 _At least I'm not the worst at it,_ she thought, watching Hermione's broom wriggle around on the ground, and Neville's broom sitting in the exact same place as where it started.

They then were shown how to mount their brooms, and Madam Hooch corrected her grip, so she wouldn't slip off the end.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet and then come straight back down by leaning forwards slightly. On my whistle- three- two-"

Before she had even placed her lips on the whistle, Neville pushed off, probably not wanting to be left behind. Madam Hooch yelled at him to get back down, but it was obvious he wasn't in control. He shot up twenty feet, before he slipped off the side, and crashed to the ground below with a thud and a crack. Sophia winced as Madam Hooch rushed over to where he was lying on the ground.

"Broken wrist," she muttered. "Come on boy- it's alright, up you get."

She glared at the rest of the class. "None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch'. Come on, dear."

Neville hobbled off with Madam Hooch, and as soon as they were out of earshot, Malfoy and the rest of the Slytherins burst out laughing.

"Did you see his face, the great lump?" Malfoy smirked.

Sophia felt her face going red. Not in embarrassment, like usual, but in anger. She hardly knew Neville, but he _was_ her twin brother, and no matter how clumsy and forgetful he was, and even if he didn't even know they were related, she couldn't stand seeing him being teased.

"Shut up, Malfoy," she snapped, and she noticed everyone who knew her look at her with wide eyes. She had never even raised her voice at school, let alone _snap_ at someone.

"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" sneered Pansy Parkinson, the mean girl from Slytherin. "Make's sense since you're just as much of a cry-baby as him."

Sophia was about to protest, when Malfoy suddenly darted forward, and picked up something lying in the grass.

"Look!" he said, holding up Neville's Remembrall. "It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him."

Sophia wanted to snatch the ball back, but her sudden burst of anger had deserted her, and she returned back to her old self. Luckily, she didn't have to worry about no one else standing up for him.

"Give that here, Malfoy," Harry said quietly, and everyone watching went silent, as Harry glared at Malfoy.

Malfoy smiled cruelly. "I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to collect - how about - up a tree?"

"Give it _here_!" Harry yelled, but Malfoy had already hopped on his broom and taken off.

"Come and get it, Potter!" Malfoy called while hovering level with the top branches of a tree. Harry grabbed his broom.

" _No!_ " Hermione Granger protested. "Madam Hooch told us not to move - you'll get us all into trouble."

Sophia couldn't help but agree with her. Harry obviously didn't, as he mounted his broom and followed Malfoy. He was definitely a natural. He climbed higher and higher, causing Sophia to squeak in worry. The viewers down on the ground couldn't hear what the two boys were saying, and could only watch as Harry confronted Malfoy.

Suddenly, Malfoy threw the ball high in the air, leaving Harry to catch it as he flew back down to the ground, and Sophia couldn't help but want to go over and slap him. But she stayed glued to the spot as Harry dived towards the glass ball that was falling rapidly.

"He's going to crash!" Sophia shouted in worry. But just as he was about to hit the ground, Harry's hand closed around the Remembrall, and he pulled out of the dive just in time, before softly tumbling off his broom. Sophia, Ron, and the other Gryffindors cheered, and a goofy smile appeared on Harry's unharmed face.

"HARRY POTTER!" Professor McGonagall yelled furiously, and Harry's face fell. The professor hurried across the grounds towards them.

" _Never_ – in all my time at Hogwarts- how _dare_ you- might have broken your neck-" McGonagall rambled on, and the Gryffindors tried to defend him, to no success. McGonagall instructed Harry to follow her, and quickly walked back to the castle, Harry following with his head drooped. Sophia could hear Malfoy chuckling, and she glared at him. Ron couldn't settle with just glaring though, and started swearing at Malfoy. Sophia looked back at the castle, and crossed her fingers for Harry, hoping he wouldn't get expelled.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hey again! I hope you're enjoying so far. I struggled with this chapter, so I hope it's okay. Sorry for any mistakes!


	7. Chapter 7

**Stand by my side**

 **Chapter 7**

"You're _joking._ " Ron exclaimed.

Harry had just finished telling Ron and Sophia about his conversation with Oliver Wood and McGonagall. Ron had forgotten about his food and was staring at him in amazement.

" _Seeker?_ " he said. "But first-years _never_ \- you must be the youngest house player in about-"

"A century," said Harry, looking very pleased with himself. "Wood told me."

"Wow." Sophia said. Ron just sat and gaped.

"I start training next week," Harry continued. "Only don't tell anyone, Wood wants to keep it a secret."

At that moment, Fred and George Weasley hurried over.

"Well done," George said in a low voice. "Wood told us. We're on the team too – Beaters."

"I tell you, we're going to win that Quidditch Cup for sure this year ," Fred grinned. "We haven't won since Charlie left, but this year's team is going to be brilliant. You must be good, Harry, Wood was almost skipping when he told us."

"Anyway, we've got to go, Lee Jordan reckons he's found a new secret passageway out of the school."

"Bet it's that one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy that we found in our first week. See you."

As Fred and George left, Sophia glanced at Ron, with an unspoken question. _Secret passageways?_ Ron just shrugged.

Sophia didn't have time to continue the conversation, because Malfoy and his two cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, came strutting up to them.

"Having a last meal, Potter? When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?"

"You're a lot braver now you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you," Harry said coolly, and Sophia smirked and stayed focused on her food. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Ron doing the same.

"I'll take you on any time on my own," Malfoy said. "Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only – no contact. What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?"

Sophia had no clue what a wizard's duel was, but she didn't like the sound of it. Harry obviously didn't know either, but Ron turned around to look at Malfoy.

"Of course he has," he said. "I'm his second, who's yours?"

Malfoy looked at Crabbe and Goyle, sizing them up.

"Crabbe," he said. "Midnight all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room, that's always unlocked." With that, he flounced away.

Sophia and Harry looked at Ron.

"What _is_ a wizard's duel?" asked Harry. "And what do you mean, you're my second?"

"Well, a second's there to take over if you die," said Ron casually, but then saw Sophia and Harry's horrified face, and quickly added, "but people only die in proper duels, you know, with real wizards. The most you and Malfoy'll be able to do is send sparks at each other. Neither of you know enough magic to do any real damage. I bet he expected you to refuse, anyway."

"And what if I wave my wand and nothing happens?"

"Throw it away and punch him on the nose."

"Ron!" Sophia glared at him.

"Excuse me," a voice said, before Ron could defend himself. The three of them looked up to see Hermione's stern face.

"Can't a person eat in peace in this place?" Ron complained.

Hermione ignored him and spoke to Harry.

"I couldn't help overhearing what you and Malfoy were saying-"

"Bet you could," Ron muttered, earning another glare from Sophia.

"-and you _mustn't_ go wandering around the school at night, think of the points you'll lose Gryffindor if you're caught, and you're bound to be. It's really selfish of you."

"And it's really none of your business," Harry replied.

"Goodbye," added Ron.

Hermione huffed, and walked off. As soon as she was gone, Sophia faced the smirking boys.

"That was mean of you," she scowled.

Ron rolled his eyes. "It's _Hermione._ You hate her too!"

"Yes, but that's still no reason to be so rude!"

"Well, she can't change my mind," Harry said. "There's no way I'm letting Malfoy have the pleasure of saying I was too scared to come."

Sophia sighed. "Guys, I agree with Hermione."

"What!" Ron exclaimed, earning some annoyed looks from their housemates.

"Why?" Harry asked.

"You're breaking school rules," argued Sophia. "If you get caught, you'll lose us house points. You could get hurt. You could hurt Malfoy-"

"Why do you care whether _Malfoy_ gets hurt?" Ron asked.

"Because he's a human being! Even if he is an idiot, it isn't alright for him to be hurt for a stupid reason like pride!"

"Sophia, we'll be fine," Harry sighed. "You're worrying too much. If you're not careful, you'll start sounding like Hermione."

Sophia huffed. "Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you."

With that, she hopped up and moved away from them, thinking about how stupid boys were. She sat down in a new spot, and only realised that she was sitting next to one of the Weasley twins when, at the same time, they said, "Hey."

"Oh, hey," she said.

Fred, who was the one she was sitting next to, raised his eyebrows, and grinned. "What brings you to the dangerous waters of the presence of us?"

Sophia smiled slightly. "Harry and Ron are being idiots."

George smirked. "Is ickle Ronniekins annoying you? We can go and give him a word if you want."

"Yeah, we can go give him a talking to. Or, even better, we can tell Mum, and she can send him a Howler!" Fred chimed in.

"Or we can prank him for you!"

"Or we can jinx him!"

"Or-"

"No, thank you," Sophia interrupted, laughing. Even if the boys were being stupid, she didn't want them to be put on the wrong end of one of the twin's pranks. She had seen them in action. No one deserved to face the wrath of the Weasley twins. And Fred and George didn't need to get any more ideas. "But thanks for offering. If for some reason I do need to jinx him, I'll know who to call."

George tipped an imaginary hat at her. "Happy to help."

Sophia smiled, and decided to go and sit with someone else. She hopped up and sat down in between Lavender and Seamus. Dean was sitting next to Seamus, and Parvati was next to Lavender. She quickly glanced around to see where Neville was, but he was nowhere to be seen. _Probably still in the hospital wing,_ she thought. Half relieved and half disappointed, she started listening to the story Seamus was telling.

Sophia avoided Harry and Ron for the rest of the day, instead hanging out with Seamus and Dean. She found that they were very entertaining, and she didn't even miss Harry and Ron. But she couldn't help but keep thinking about the midnight duel. She even considered telling Percy Weasley, who was a Prefect, but she decided against it. But she lay awake in bed that night, thinking about it. Finally, at 11.15, she finally decided to act. She slipped out of bed, tip-toed to Hermione's bed, and shook her shoulder,

"Hermione!" she whispered. "Wake up!"

Hermione grunted. "What?" she yawned. "It's too late to be up!"

"I need your help," Sophia whispered, and told Hermione what she was doing. With every word, Hermione's eyes lit up.

"Okay," she whispered once Sophia had finished explaining. "Let's do it."

Harry and Ron came down the stairs at half-past eleven. Sophia and Hermione hid in the corner of the common room, to make sure that they weren't just getting up and sitting in the common room. When the boys were at the portrait hole, Hermione stepped out of the shadows.

"I can't believe you're going to do this, Harry." She flicked the lamp on, but Sophia stayed hidden.

" _You!_ " said Ron furiously. "Go back to bed!"

Sophia stepped out of the shadows. "I almost told your brother," she said. "Percy – he's a Prefect, he'd put a stop to this."

Ron looked surprised for a moment, before his face turned to a scowl. "Sophia! You too! I thought you were our friend!"

"This is wrong," Sophia said. "I needed to stop you."

"By asking _her_?" Ron exclaimed, pointing at Hermione.

Harry had been silent the whole time, glaring at them, but he had obviously had enough.

"Come on," he said to Ron. He pushed open the portrait of the Fat Lady, and climbed through the hole, Ron not far behind. Hermione followed them, hissing angrily, and Sophia trailed behind her miserably. She didn't want Ron and Harry to get in trouble, but she didn't want them to hate her either.

"Don't you _care_ about Gryffindor," Hermione said, "do you _only_ care about yourselves, I don't want Slytherin to win the House Cup and you'll lose all the points I got from Professor McGonagall for knowing about Switching Spells."

"Go away."

"All right, but I warned you, you just remember what I said when you're on the train home tomorrow, you're so-"

"Um, Hermione?" Sophia interrupted, looking at the portrait. Hermione turned around to see the blank canvas. The Fat Lady wasn't there anymore. She had gone for a night-time visit, and now the two girls were locked out of the Gryffindor Tower.

"Now what are we going to do?" Hermione whispered furiously.

"That's your problem," said Ron. "We've got to go, we're going to be late."

Harry and Ron started walking towards the trophy room. Sophia and Hermione looked at each other.

"We're going after them, aren't we?" Sophia sighed.

"Yup."

"I thought you would say that."

Hermione grinned, and ran after the boys, Sophia reluctantly following her. They caught them at the end of the corridor.

"We're coming with you," Hermione announced to the boys.

Ron looked outraged. "You are _not._ "

"D'you think we're going to stand out here and wait for Filch to catch us? If he finds all four of us Sophia and I can tell him the truth, that we were trying to stop you, and you two can back us up."

"You've got some nerve-" Ron started protesting loudly, but then Sophia heard something, and gulped.

"Shut up, both of you!" she hissed. "I heard something."

It sounded a bit like snuffling, like a pig.

"Mrs Norris?" breathed Ron, squinting to try and see something.

Harry crept forward, and the rest of them followed, until they could make out who it was. It was Neville. He was curled up on the floor, asleep, but he jerked awake as if he could feel their presence.

"Thank goodness you found me!" he said. "I've been out here for hours. I couldn't remember the new password to get in to bed."

"Keep your voice down, Neville," said Ron. "The password's 'Pig snout' but it won't help you now, the Fat Lady's gone off somewhere."

"How's your arm?" Sophia asked kindly.

"Fine," Neville said, holding out his hand for them to see. "Madam Pomfrey mended it in about a minute."

"Good," said Harry, "well, look, Neville, we've got to be somewhere, we'll see you later-"

"Don't leave me!" Neville cried, scrambling to his feet desperately. "I don't want to stay here alone, the Bloody Baron's been past twice already."

Ron glanced at his watch, before scowling at Sophia, Neville, and Hermione. "If any of you get us caught, I'll never rest until I've learnt that Curse of the Bogies Quirrell told us about and use it on you."

Hermione started to open her mouth, but Harry shushed her and beckoned them all forward.

They tiptoed to the trophy room quickly, with Neville breathing loudly, and Ron shushing them every ten seconds.

Malfoy and Crabbe weren't there yet. They edged along the wall, and squatted down with a good view of the door on the other side of the room. Harry took out his wand.

The minutes ticked by, without the two Slytherins walking through the door. Sophia started to get impatient. She hadn't wanted to come. She just wanted to have a peaceful time at Hogwarts, just learning magic and making new friends, not sneaking around at midnight to fight someone.

"He's late, maybe he's chickened out," Ron whispered after a while. Harry just kept on staring at the door, until a noise in a nearby room made them all jump.

"Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner," a very unwelcomed voice said.

It was Filch, talking to Mrs Norris. Horror filled everyone's faces, and Harry waved at the others to follow him. They scurried towards the door, and they were hardly out of sight before Filch walked into the trophy room.

"They're in here somewhere," they heard him mutter, "probably hiding."

"This way," Harry mouthed, and they silently crept along a long gallery full of suits of armour. They could hear Filch getting closer and closer. Neville let out a frightened squeak, and burst into a run, but he tripped, and grabbed the closest thing he could, which happened to be Sophia. Thy both tumbled into a suit of armour, which fell over with a loud CLANG!

"Run!" Harry yelled, and the group sprinted down the gallery, Sophia pulling Neville along. They raced through the castle, and Sophia quickly lost track of where they were. She just kept on running, following Harry, until they found themselves near the Charms classroom, which was a long way away from the trophy room.

"I think we've lost him," Harry panted, as he leant against a wall and wiped sweat off his forehead. Neville doubled other, wheezing, and Sophia collapsed on the floor, gasping for air.

"I- _told_ – you," Hermione said, clutching at a stitch in her chest. "I- told- you."

"We've got to get back to Gryffindor Tower," said Ron, "quickly as possible."

"Malfoy tricked you," Hermione said to Harry. "You realise that, don't you? He was never going to meet you- Filch knew someone was going to be in the trophy room, Malfoy must have tipped him off." Harry just frowned at the floor.

"Let's go," he said.

They hadn't made it very far, before they came across their next obstacle. It was Peeves. He saw them and gave a squeal of delight.

"Shut up Peeves- please- you'll get us thrown out," Harry hissed.

Peeves cackled. "Wandering around at midnight, ickle firsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty."

"Not if you don't give us away, Peeves, please," Sophia begged.

"Should tell Filch, I should," Peeves said innocently, eyes sparkling mischievously. "It's for your own good, you know."

"Get out of the way," Ron snapped, and before anyone could stop him, he swiped at Peeves.

"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves hollered. "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"

They ducked under Peeves and started running down the corridor, to the door- that was locked.

"This is it," Ron moaned as they pushed the door, to no success. "We're done for! This is the end!" They could hear Filch hurrying closer, following the sound of Peeves's voice.

"Oh, move over," Hermione snapped, and snatched Harry's wand out of his hand. She tapped the lock, and whispered, ' _Alohomora_ '. The lock clicked, and they pushed it open, scrambled inside, and shut it. Neville collapsed against Sophia, as Harry, Ron and Hermione pressed their ears against the door, listening to what was being said outside. There wasn't enough room for Sophia and Neville to listen, so they turned to see what was in the room. What they saw made them both freeze in fear.

They weren't in a room. They were in a corridor. The forbidden corridor on the third floor. And they now knew why it was forbidden.

Standing in the corridor, not that far away, was a massive dog. Its eyes rolled madly. Its nose twitched. Its mouth had long strings of saliva hanging from it. It looked like something out of a nightmare. But it got worse. The dog moved its head slightly- to reveal two identical heads behind it. It hadn't noticed them yet.

"Oh my god," Neville breathed, and tugged on Harry's dressing gown. Harry paid no attention. He stayed listening to Filch and Peeves.

The head on the right suddenly raised its head, and the other two did too. They growled, as if sensing something. Neville tugged on Harry's sleeve even more vigorously.

The dog moved closer to them, but it still hadn't seen them. Closer, closer, closer- until it was standing right in front of them. There was no way it hadn't seen them. It looked at them in surprise, as if thinking, _Why is there people in our corridor? Are they stupid?_ Sophia was starting to think the same thing.

"He thinks this door is locked," whispered Harry, still oblivious to what was happening. "I think we'll be OK- get _off,_ Neville! What?" Harry finally noticed Neville, and turned around to face the same thing they were. Ron and Hermione turned around too, and all three of their faces flashed between different feelings. The dog started growling, its shock wearing off. Harry started grabbing for the doorknob. The door opened, and they all streamed out hurriedly. Harry slammed the door, and they all ran. Again. Filch and Peeves were nowhere to be seen. They ran and ran and ran and ran. They only stopped once they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady on the seventh floor.

"Where on earth have you all been?" she asked, taking in the strange sight.

"Never mind that- pig snout, pig snout," panted Harry, and the portrait swung open. They all scrambled in, and collapsed in the armchairs. Sophia gripped the armrest until her knuckles went white. They all just sat there in quiet shock, until Ron spoke.

"What do you think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?" he said. "If any dog needs exercise, that one does."

Hermione scowled. "You don't use your eyes, any of you, do you? Didn't you see what it was standing on?"

"The floor?" Harry guessed. "I wasn't looking at its feet, I was too busy with its heads."

"No, _not_ the floor. It was standing on a trapdoor. It's obviously guarding something." She stood up. "I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could have all been killed- or worse, expelled. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed." She walked away with a huff, leaving Ron gaping after her.

"No, we don't mind," he said. "You'd think we dragged her along, wouldn't you?"

Harry stood up. "I'm going to bed," he said. He looked like something was troubling him. Sophia was about to ask him what was wrong, but she remembered that he and Ron were mad at her, so she kept her mouth shut.

Harry and Ron headed off to bed, but Sophia and Neville stayed. Sophia felt like she couldn't get out of the chair. Neville looked the same way.

"Uh, Sophia?" he said. "Can I ask you something?"

"Oh, um, sure," Sophia squeaked, feeling blood rush to her cheeks.

"You've been acting really strange around me. Is there something wrong?"

Sophia felt her head pounding. "Uh, no?" she said, but Neville could obviously see though the lie.

"Ok, then," he said, slightly glumly. "I'm going to bed." He hopped up, and headed off to the boy's dormitory. Sophia stayed in her chair, thoughts flashing through her head- what the dog was guarding, how to get back on Harry and Ron's good side, and when to tell Neville they were related. She ended up falling asleep in the armchair, too exhausted to move. That night, her dreams were haunted by visions of three-headed dogs.

* * *

 **A/N: Hello! I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while!**

 **I am going to start a new story. It will be a Percy Jackson story, so if you've read the PJO/HOO series, please check it out! Thank you for the support! Reviews are really appreciated!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Stand by my side**

 **Chapter 8**

 _Dear Dad, Colin and Dennis,_

 _How are you? I really miss you all. Life isn't the same without you. You would all really love it here. It's really cool learning magic, and Hogwarts is amazing. The stairs move though- it gets really annoying when you're trying to get to class fast._

 _The subjects are mostly pretty cool. Charms and Potions are my favourite- but Professor Snape can be really mean, which is why most of my friends don't like Potions. Transfiguration is really hard. I was looking forward to Defence Against the Dark Arts, but Professor Quirrell isn't very good. I'm horrible at Herbology. You remember when I tried to plant some flowers back when I was 8? It's like that, but ten times worse, because all the plants are magical. And we get heaps of homework. I've hardly had any time to read._

 _Harry and Ron aren't talking to me, and it's really frustrating. Harry got a package one morning when the post came, and he and Ron seemed really excited about it, but I don't know what it is. I really hope they start talking to me soon. But while they're mad at me, I've been hanging out with some other people- Lavender, Parvati, Seamus, Dean, and Neville. They're really nice. There's a really annoying girl in my year- Hermione Granger. She's a really big know-it-all, and she's really bossy. She wants to read my book after I'm finished, but I'm not sure I'll even finish it before the end of the year!_

 _I hope everything's good back at home. I'll hopefully come home at Christmas. See you then!_

 _Love from Sophia 3_

Sophia had always enjoyed Hallowe'en. She had always loved dressing up with Colin and Dennis, and she was upset that she couldn't do it with them. But Hogwarts didn't let her down. From the moment she woke up, she could smell pumpkins baking downstairs, and was instantly happy, despite everything that had happened with the monster in the forbidden corridor. And to make things better, they got to finally make things fly in Charms, which everyone had been looking forward to. Sophia was, unfortunately, partnered with Neville to practice the spell.

"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" squeaked Professor Flitwick. "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important, too- never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest."

It wasn't easy to do. Sophia swished and flicked, but she only managed to get it a few inches off the table before it floated back down again. Neville was having even worse luck- he hadn't moved it at all.

Sophia tried to block out everyone else, although it was very difficult when she could hear Ron and Hermione arguing loudly. She only looked up when she heard Flitwick squeal with excitement.

"Oh, well done! Everyone see here, Miss Granger's done it!"

Sophia couldn't help but scowl, and went back to concentrating on her feather.

"That was hard!" Lavender exclaimed as they left the Charms classroom.

"I know right!" Sophia sighed. "I can't believe Hermione managed to do it."

"Speaking of which," Parvati said, "what's Hermione doing?"

The three girls looked ahead of them where they could see Hermione rubbing her eyes as she turned a corner.

"Was she crying?" Sophia asked with concern.

"I'm sure she'll be fine," Lavender shrugged.

They weren't so sure about that when Hermione wasn't in the next class, and no one saw her for the rest of the afternoon. Parvati went to investigate, and as Sophia and Lavender were walking down to the Great Hall, she caught up with them.

"Hermione's in the girls' toilets. She's crying and refusing to talk to anyone."

"Should we go check on her?" asked Sophia worriedly.

"Gosh Sophia, anyone would think you're a Hufflepuff!" Lavender rolled her eyes. "She'll be fine!"

Sophia couldn't drop the feeling that she should go see whether Hermione was okay, but she forced herself to relax as she saw the food. It was amazing. She was helping herself to a bit of everything, when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the Great Hall, panic plastered on his face. He collapsed against the teachers table and gasped, "Troll- in the dungeons- thought you ought to know." He then slumped to the floor.

The whole hall erupted in panic. Dumbledore had to set off multiple purple firecrackers from his wand to get everyone's attention.

"Prefects, lead your houses back to the dormitories immediately!"

Percy Weasley quickly took charge, and ushered the first year Gryffindors off to Gryffindor Tower. Sophia fell into step next to Neville, who was hyperventilating.

"It will be fine Neville," she said. "The teachers have it under control." She was actually terrified, and her hands were shaking, but she tried not to let it show.

They made it up to the Fat Lady, and after Percy let them in, Sophia collapsed in an armchair. Lavender and Parvati soon came and sat next to her, giving her a weary smile. They sat there for a moment, before Sophia suddenly sat up.

"Hermione!" she exclaimed. "She's still in the toilets!"

Parvati looked worried for a moment, but Lavender shrugged.

"Don't worry, the teachers will find her," she said calmly. "She'll be fine."

Sophia started to relax, before sitting up again. "Where's Ron and Harry?"

Lavender looked around, and shrugged again. "No idea."

"I don't remember seeing them come in," Parvati added.

Sophia smacked her head. "Oh, god, how could I have been so stupid! Harry and Ron are so reckless, they will have gone and tried to find Hermione!"

"How can you be sure? They might have come in and we didn't notice."

"They used to be my best friends. I know them. That's exactly the kind of stupid reckless thing they'd do."

"Sophia, don't overreact," Parvati said calmly. "They'll be fine." She stood up. "I'm going to go do homework."

Lavender stood up as well. "Are you coming Sophia?"

Sophia shook her head, eyes glued on the portrait hole. "No. I'm going to wait here and make sure they're all right."

Lavender sighed. "Okay. We'll tell you if we see them."

* * *

Sophia stayed sitting in the armchair watching the door, even when food was sent up. Her insides were twisting in anxiety, and she had bit her lip until it was bleeding. It was only when Hermione climbed through the portrait hole did she rise and run over. Not even thinking, she wrapped the other girl in a big hug. Hermione froze, not sure what was going on.

"You're okay!" Sophia exclaimed. "I'm so sorry! I wanted to come and find you, but I forgot and then I was told that you'd be okay! What happened? Where's Harry and Ron?"

Hermione looked slightly surprised. "Um, well…"

She was saved from answering when the portrait hole swung open again, and Ron and Harry clambered through. Sophia immediately detached herself from Hermione and flung her arms around Ron and Harry.

"You're okay! I was so worried!" Then she unwrapped herself and put her hands on her hips. "What on earth were you two thinking? Running off like that! I should go and tell Percy, he'll give you a good punishment! You had me worried sick! That was really stupid of you! I know you're Gryffindors, but that's no reason to be stupid reckless gits!"

"Woah, woah, woah!" Ron grinned and put up his hands in surrender. "You sound like my mum!"

"Sorry Sophia," Harry said, a bit more sombre than his friend. "We had to."

Sophia huffed. "Apology accepted. Now you can tell me what on earth has been going on. From the beginning."

* * *

November came, and with it, the cold weather. The lake was frozen over, and the grounds were covered in frost.

Quidditch had begun, and on Saturday, Harry would be playing against Slytherin. Sophia could tell he was nervous, but he tried to busy himself in Quidditch practice and homework to keep himself busy.

Sophia was glad she was back in the good books with Harry and Ron. She didn't want to admit it, but they were better company than Lavender and Parvati. She was also a lot friendlier with Hermione now, and Hermione often helped her with her homework. Sophia still didn't hang out with them too much anymore- she liked hanging out with Neville, Seamus and Dean- but she had told them to keep her updated on what was happening. To be honest, she hadn't expected much to happen, so she was surprised when Harry told her about Snape's injured leg, and the conversation he had overheard. She told him to be careful when he was around Snape, but she couldn't do much all to help. And she didn't want to make Harry more worried then he already was.

The day of the Gryffindor vs Slytherin Quidditch Match arrived, and the Great Hall was buzzing with excitement, but Sophia, Ron, Hermione, and the rest of her friends were trying to convince Harry to eat something, to no success. He just kept on refusing, no matter how much they pestered him. Eventually, they just let it go.

At eleven o'clock, as they went down to the Quidditch pitch, and unleashed their surprise for Harry. They had painted an old sheet that Scabbers had ruined, and written _Potter for President_ on it. Sophia had worked with Dean to draw a Gryffindor lion underneath, and Hermione had done a charm to make the paint flash different colours.

As Harry went into the Gryffindor changerooms, Sophia and her friends found some seats, and made themselves comfortable. Sophia scanned the Quidditch pitch with her binoculars. She had never seen a game of Quidditch before, and was excited. She'd heard all about it from Hermione, who had read _Quidditch through the Ages_ , but hearing about it wasn't the same as being at an actual game. You could feel the excitement in the air- and the tension. Everyone was waiting in anticipation.

"They're coming out!" hissed Ron, and Sophia looked down to see the Gryffindor team, dressed in scarlet, walking out of the changing room. Sophia joined in with the massive cheer that Gryffindor let out when they saw their team, but she couldn't help but notice that Slytherin also got a very loud cheer as they walked out in their green uniform.

The two teams met Madam Hooch in the middle of the field, and after a few words, they all climbed onto their broomsticks. Madam Hooch blew her whistle, and the players all zoomed off into the air.

Lee Jordan immediately started commentating.

"And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor- what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive, too-"

"JORDAN!" McGonagall protested.

"Sorry, Professor. And she's really belting along up there, a neat pass to Alicia Spinnet, a good find of Oliver Wood's, last year only a reserve- back to Johnson and- no, Slytherin has taken the Quaffle, Slytherin captain Marcus Flint gains the Quaffle and off he goes- Flint flying like an eagle up there- he's going to sc- no, stopped by an excellent move by Gryffindor Keeper Wood and Gryffindor takes the Quaffle- that's Chaser Katie Bell of Gryffindor there, nice dive around Flint, off up the field and- OUCH- that must have hurt, hit in the back of the head by a Bludger- Quaffle taken by Slytherin- that's Adrien Pucey speeding off towards the goalposts, but he's blocked by a second Bludger- sent his way by Fred or George Weasley, can't tell which- nice play by the Gryffindor Beater, anyway, and Johnson back in possession of the Quaffle, a clear field ahead and of she goes- she's really flying- dodges a speeding Bludger- the goalposts are ahead- come on, now, Angelina- Keeper Bletchley dives- misses- GRYFFINDOR SCORE!"

"Yes!" Sophia cheered, along with the rest of the Gryffindors, while the Slytherins groaned.

"Budge up there, move along," a familiar gruff voice said.

"Hagrid!"

Sophia, Ron and Hermione all squeezed along so that Hagrid had enough room to sit down.

"Bin watchin' from me hut," said Hagrid, "but it isn't the same as bein' in the crowd. No sign of the Snitch yet, eh?"

"Nope," said Ron. "Harry hasn't had much to do yet."

"Kept outta trouble, though, that's somethin'," said Hagrid, using his binoculars to watch the little speck that was Harry.

Sophia sighed and rubbed her eyes. She wanted to watch to support Harry, but she was tired, and wasn't really interested in Quidditch. Instead she found herself daydreaming, hardly paying attention to the match. She didn't even look up when all of Gryffindor started screaming about a foul. Her mind wandered from her family, to her homework, to Neville, to the monster in the forbidden corridor, to her friends.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when the whole crowd gasped. She looked up to see what the fuss was about and nearly shrieked. Harry was hanging of the side of his broom, only holding on with one hand.

"Did something happen to it when Flint blocked him?" Seamus asked.

"Can't have," Hagrid said in a trembling voice. "Can't nothing interfere with a broomstick except powerful Dark Magic- no kid could do that to a Nimbus Two Thousand."

Hermione quickly seized Hagrid's binoculars and started scanning the crowd.

"What are you doing?" moaned Ron.

"I knew it," Hermione gasped. "Snape- look"

Sophia grabbed the binoculars and found Snape. His eyes were fixed on Harry, and was muttering something.

"He's doing something- jinxing the broom," said Hermione as Sophia passed the binoculars onto Ron.

"What should we do?"

"Leave it to me."

Before Sophia or Ron could say anything else, Hermione had disappeared into the crowd. Ron focused again on Harry with the binoculars, and Sophia tried to see what was happening. It was hard to see without binoculars.

"Come on, Hermione," Ron murmured.

Sophia watched in anxiety as Harry hung on for dear life, until suddenly, his broom stopped jerking, and Harry was able to clamber back onto his broom.

"Oh, thank god!" Sophia sighed with relief, as Ron convinced Neville that it was okay. But it wasn't finished yet. Harry was speeding down to the ground, when he suddenly clamped his hand to his mouth, like he was going to be sick. He hit the pitch on his hands and knees and coughed. A small, golden ball fell out into his hands.

"I've got the Snitch!" he yelled, waving it above his head, and the game ended in complete confusion.

Sophia, Ron, Hermione and Hagrid quickly brought Harry to Hagrid's hut for a cup of tea, and Ron and Hermione explained how Snape had jinxed his broomstick.

"Rubbish," said Hagrid. "Why would Snape do somethin' like that?"

Harry glanced at his friends, and they all nodded.

"I found out something about him," he said to Hagrid. "He tried to get past the three-headed dog at Hallowe'en. It bit him. We think he was trying to steal whatever it's guarding."

Hagrid dropped his teapot. "How do you know about Fluffy?"

" _Fluffy_?" Sophia questioned.

"Yeah- he's mine- bought him off a Greek chappie I met in a pub las' year- I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the-"

"Yes?" Harry urged.

"Now, don't ask me anymore," Hagrid grunted. "That's top secret, that is."

"But Snape's trying to _steal_ it."

"Rubbish. Snape's a Hogwarts teacher, he'd do nothin' of the sort."

"So why did he just try to kill Harry?" cried Hermione. "I know a jinx when I see one, Hagrid, I've read all about them! You've got to keep eye contact, and Snape wasn't blinking at all, I saw him!"

"I'm tellin' yeh, yer wrong!" Hagrid protested. "I don' know why Harry's broom acted like that, but Snape wouldn' try an' kill a student! Now, listen to me, all four of yeh- yer meddlin' in things that don' concern yeh. It's dangerous. You forget that dog, an' you forget what it's guardin', that's between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicholas Flamel-"

"Aha!" Harry said triumphantly. "So there's someone called Nicholas Flamel involved, is there?"

Hagrid looked furious with himself.

* * *

The snow on the ground was the unofficial start of Christmas. The lake was frozen solid, and the Weasley twins were punished for enchanting snowballs to follow Quirrell around, making them bounce off his turban. The few owls that made it through the harsh winds and snow had to be nursed back to health by Hagrid.

The castle was freezing, except for the Gryffindor common room and the Great Hall, which both had fires blazing. The worst was the Potions classroom down in the dungeons, where their breath turned to mist, and they had to huddle around the warm cauldrons.

"I do feel so sorry for all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they're not wanted at home," Draco Malfoy said one Potions lesson. He was looking directly at Harry, but Harry ignored him. Malfoy had been taunting him since Gryffindor beat Slytherin.

They left the Potions classroom, only to find themselves blocked by a large fir tree. Two enormous feet stuck out the bottom, and a loud puffing sound was coming from it.

"Hi, Hagrid, want any help?" asked Ron, sticking his head through the branches.

"Nah, I'm all right, thanks, Ron," Hagrid said.

"Would you mind moving out of the way?" a familiar voice snarled from behind them. "Are you trying to earn some extra money, Weasley? Hoping to be gamekeeper yourself when you leave Hogwarts, I suppose – that hut of Hagrid's must seem like a palace compared to what your family's used to."

Ron growled and dived at Malfoy.

"WEASLEY!" an even worse voice shouted. Ron quickly let go of Malfoy's robes.

"He was provoked, Professor Snape," said Hagrid. "Malfoy was insultin' his family."

"Be as that may, fighting is against Hogwarts rules, Hagrid," Snape said smoothly. "Five points from Gryffindor, Weasley, and be grateful it isn't more. Move along, all of you."

Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle pushed passed them, smirking. One of them knocked into Sophia, making her stumble.

"I'm going to go back up to the dormitory," she told the others. "I need to finish getting ready. I'll see you later."

She headed off, making her way up to Gryffindor Tower. There was barely anyone there. Everyone was down at the Great Hall. The only people in the common room were a few people studying, one boy sleeping in an armchair, and Neville. Neville seemed to be just standing there, not doing anything.

"Hi Sophia," he said. Sophia mumbled in response. The fact was, she still couldn't talk to Neville much. Sure, she had a few times, but overall, she was still too embarrassed to talk to him.

Neville frowned. "Sophia, is there something wrong? You act strange around me, and only me. You hardly talk to my face. Am I doing something wrong?"

Sophia clenched her fists. All the rage and anxiety she had been holding just spilled out of her like a tsunami.

"Maybe if you actually _knew_ who I was, you would understand how I'm feeling!" she snapped.

Neville looked shocked at her outburst. He opened his mouth like he was going to say something and closed it again. The people who were studying looked over in curiosity. The boy who was sleeping jolted awake from the noise. There was silence as she stormed out of the room, tears streaming down her face.

 _Why can't he know?_ she thought as she ran down the stairs. _Why can't he just know who I am?_

* * *

 **A/N: Hi everyone! Sorry this took so long! I tried to keep it vague, because everyone knows the details and doesn't need me repeating them.**

 **IMPORTANT- If anyone is a fan of the Hunger Games, please check out my story,** **Like a Lamb to the Slaughter.** **It's a SYOT, and I need a lot more people. It would be greatly appreciated!**


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